Roosh Cartel
The Roosh Salvager Cartel was a crime syndicate that primarily operated on Raxus Prime during the Galactic Empire's rise to power. Primarily made up of Rodian thugs, the organisation was led by Drexl Roosh. Drexl had accumulated an impressive sum of credits working for the Galactic Empire as an informant and mercenary headhunter, who likely partook in the Jedi Purge. He used this cover to create and organise a criminal operation that committed fraud, sold sabotaged items and sold slaves on worlds where the law did not permit it. When he finished his mercenary career, Roosh was wanted for illegal slave trading, selling faulty materials, and at least thirty-eight counts of fraud. The Empire turned on him, forcing him and his personnel to retreat to Raxus Prime, where they established the primary base for their salvaging operation, running smaller operations and smaller bases on different worlds. While the Roosh Salvager Cartel primarily employed Rodians, a few non-Rodians worked alongside them, which included a large number of Jawas that were allowed to serve the cartel as a source of cheap labour despite Drexl's hatred towards their race. Members of this cartel fought with blaster pistols, blaster rifles and rocket launchers, while the elite infantry used Z0-16 rotary cannons and stun gloves with knives in them. Most of them wore coats or some form of body armour. It is possible that a number of them wore jetpacks. The cartel also had a number of Low Altitude Assault Transports, which were likely salvaged from wrecks left during the Clone Wars, though a number of them could have been acquired as surplus from the Empire during Drexl's bounty hunting days. The cartel members sifted through scrap to find hunks of metal, intact mechanical parts or other salvage that could be exchanged for credits. Roosh viewed them as expendable, and had little regard for their lives. Several if them felt the same way, and would not have hesitated to betray him if the opportunity had arisen. Drexl kept a tight noose around his group, and refused to tolerate treachery or interference with his operations. The cartel and their leader feared a reclusive and maddened Aleena Jedi Master named Kazdan Paratus, who had constructed an entire legion of battle droids from scrap. Those droids viciously defended a makeshift reconstruction of Coruscant's Jedi Temple, and sometimes made forays into other parts of Raxus Prime, where they attacked cartel members. Despite this, they were grateful for the defensive ring of droids around the temple, as it was their sheer numbers that convinced the Empire to stay away. One particularly nasty encounter left a number of Rodians dead when over a dozen of Kazdan's scrap guardians, backed by a pair of scrap scavengers and a junk titan, attacked one of their forward salvaging groups. The cartel responded by assembling a strike force led by several heavy defenders with their rotary cannons, and rippers wielding stun gloves. Galen Marek had been sent by Darth Vader to assassinate Kazdan Paratus, and his arrival was noticed by both of the battling parties. A rodian ganger opened fire on the Force sensitive with his rocket launcher, and stared wide-eyed as the projectile was flung back at him and exploded. In a flurry of explosions, lightning blasts and lightsaber strikes, the Imperial operative and Vader's secret apparentice had entirely destroyed the droid attack force and killed all of the gang members except for one, who explained that if he was spared, he would take Galen to Drexl. Galen primed one of the Rodian's thermal detonators and propelled it towards him, ending his life. Marek tracked down Drexl at one of his outposts. When Drexl demanded payment in exchange for providing the Jedi-in-exile's position, he was force-choked until he revealed the location. When he was released, he explained that Galen was a wanted man, and that the Empire would pay a great sum of credits for the bounty on his head. Galen Marek slew the gang members accompanying Roosh and defeated the cartel's leader in a duel, knocking him to the ground. Drexl laughed like a maniac, distracting the Force user long enough for an LAAT gunship to arrive. The Sith apprentice assaulted the gunship and sent it crashing down, supposedly killing Drexl. Drexl was recovered from the rubble by his gang members, wounded but alive. In the coming days, they learned of Kazdan Paratus's death, and the complete destruction of his droid legion. The Galactic Empire "Imperialized" Raxus Prime, sending down Imperial Army soldiers and stormtroopers to subjugate any who dared oppose the Emperor's reign over the scrapyard world. Several Rodian scavengers were killed in firefights, the Empire began collecting and processing most of the ores available on the planet, and the Roosh Cartel was forced underground, constructing a new hideout inside of the tunnels. A number of Imperial patrols were sent to root out the scavengers, but Drexl's troops successfully stood their ground, ambushing each one and sending the survivors scampering back to their outposts. Galen Marek returned to Raxus Prime sometime later, entering a series of tunnels on his way to the Empire's ore processing plant. Roosh sought revenge against the secret apprentice for killing Paratus and allowing the Empire to take over Raxus, because he and his gang had nothing to safely scavenge or excavate. Starkiller attempted to reason with him, but he ordered his bodyguards to open fire. Marek used telekinesis to throw all of the present cartel members off their feet, and struck most of them down with his lightsaber. Drexl retreated and Starkiller pursued him down the tunnel until they reached the hideout. Salvaged quad laser cannons were brought to bear, but Starkiller used telekinesis and his lightsaber to deflect all of the blaster bolts sent his way before he brought down several portions of the roof, crushing or separating a great many of the cartel infantry. Roosh attempted to flee with a jetpack he had equipped, but Marek knew that if the Rodian made it offworld or into the hands of the Empire, his involvement in Kazdan's death would be discovered. He grasped Drexl with the Force, slammed him into the ceiling which caused the jetpack to explode. The roof of the junk hall collapsed completely, and Drexl Roosh was dead. The surviving lieutenants of the Roosh Cartel gathered their underlings. It is unknown whether they fought one another, attacked the Imperial outposts, attempted to seize starships, or remained on the planet to scavenge metals following the destruction of the Imperial orce processing plant. It is likely that they were few in number following Roosh's death and the destruction of their hideout, and the Imperial presence on the junk-ridden planet was still strong. Category:Criminal organisation Category:Cartel Category:Roosh Cartel Category:Drexl Roosh Category:Raxus Prime